Illinois § 5

§ 5.

Findings. The General Assembly finds that: (a) People with medical debt often forgo needed medical care, have difficulty meeting basic needs, and face an increased risk of bankruptcy. (b) Of the estimated 1,900,000 Illinois residents with medical debt in collections, 1,700,000 live at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The average medical debt per individual is approximately $2,300, and of the total estimated $4,370,000,000 in medical debt that is in collections in Illinois, roughly $4,000,000,000 is acquirable, erasable medical debt carried by low-income Americans. (c) Medical debt impacts communities throughout the State. There are at least 12 counties in Illinois in which 20% to 30% of residents are living with medical debt in collections: Alexander, Coles, Grundy, Jefferson, Macon, Marion, Massac, Randolph, Schuyler, Shelby, Vermilion, and Warren counties. These 12 counties have approximately 475,000 residents, about 112,000 of whom have medical debt in collections. 13% of Cook County residents have medical debt in collections, and their medical debts comprise more than a quarter of the statewide total. (d) While any person can accumulate medical debt, people of color are disproportionately affected. Nationally, 13% of the population has medical debt in collections, but 15% of people in communities of color have medical debt in collections. In Illinois, 14% of the population has medical debt in collections, but 20% of the population in communities of color have medical debt in collections. (e) The medical debt disparity reinforces racial inequity and exacerbates disparities in health outcomes. Structural barriers, including housing, credit, and employment opportunities, further increase financial vulnerability for communities of color, making it more difficult to pay medical bills on time. (f) Since medical debt can be difficult for hospital systems to collect, they will often settle debt obligations for a fraction of the total amount owed. (g) Cook County launched a successful effort to erase medical debt obligations for Cook County residents in partnership with a national nonprofit organization. Accounting for Cook County's investment, an additional commitment of approximately $24,500,000 would eliminate all current medical debt for Illinois residents living at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines. (h) Illinois can accelerate health equity for residents across the State by establishing a Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program to provide grant funding to a nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator to relieve thousands of families from the crushing burden of medical debt. (Source: P.A. 103-647, eff. 7-1-24.)